Zomuzi turns former autobody shop into Gantri San Francisco shop

New York studio Zomuzi has completed a showroom for lighting brand Gantri in San Fransciso that brings together influences from the building’s 1930s origins and the city’s counter-cultural history.

Gantri’s The Shop is located in San Francisco’s SoMa neighbourhood and is the brand’s first brick-and-mortar gallery and retail space, placing its 3D-printed lights on display for customers to browse and customise.

Gantri has opened its first showroom

The 1,600-square-foot (148 square metre) space is “drenched in Gantri green” and spreads out into the former garage of an auto body shop built in the 1930’s.

A consultation table sits at the centre, while a seating area is located towards the back. Display cases, lined with a light plywood, run around the perimeter.

It is “drenched” in green

The bright, Gantri green carries throughout multiple textures, materials and built peices, such as a long muslin curtain that lines one side of the space and a “woven” screen made of 3D-printed tiles.

Other elements, such as a rug, the garage door, and a ceiling panel, are also covered in the hue.

A screen of 3D-printed tiles lines one wall

Zomuzi founder Mzwakhe ‘Muzi’ Ndlovu told Dezeen he referenced SoMa’s architectural and cultural history for the space, paying homage to Art Deco and Streamline Moderne aesthetics and the neighbourhood’s eclectic LGBTQ+ subculture.

Ndlovu said he also looked to San Francisco’s queer venues, such as The Castro Theatre and The Oasis and other local architecture as references.

It is located in a former autobody shop

“The long, high curtains are an homage to those typical in theatres like The Castro, the display units resemble the platforms used by go-go dancers, and it wasn’t until later that I realised the ceiling light installation referencing the ceilings of art deco lobbies in the area also resembled illuminated stages like those found in The Oasis,” Ndlovu told Dezeen.

“All of these elements were used to not only create a space that serves Gantri’s desired use of The Shop, but also its desire to be a space for and of the LGBTQ+ community, and to add to the legacy of SoMa as a space for the community to come together and feel safe, and feel seen.”

Eight lights that will change the way you see 3D-printed design

The designer also noted that the autobody shop itself, as well as others that line the street, informed the design.

“In my initial site visit, I popped my head in a few of the shops and looked for motifs that could be easily recognised as distinct from that typology,” he said.

“Jacks, raised platforms, castors for flexibility and mobility, steel pegboards – all of these elements informed the design. In many ways, The Shop is intended to function much like an auto body shop in that it is a space where one can configure the products to their liking.”

A curtain calls to San Francisco’s historic queer theatres

The Shop’s opening marks Gantri’s tenth anniversary. The brand is based in the Bay Area and recently opened a factory for its digital manufacturing system, which powers thousands of 3D printers, as well as its design platform Gantri Made.

Founded by Ian Yang, the company is seeking to create a new, affordable manufacturing procedure for designers and brands looking to produce lighting.

Its opening marks the brand’s ten-year anniversary

“From the beginning, fostering and empowering a new generation of creators to launch their own designs to the world has been at the centre of our mission,” said Yang. “Our first showroom is a manifestation of our brand and this vision.”

Digital manufacturing and 3D printing are slowly being integrated into larger-scale manufacturing, while designers, such as Gustaf Westman and Joyce Lai have also turned to the technology to produce objects.

The photography is by Krescent Carasso.